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Just took my test this morning, got 730 (my last attempt was 690 back in Feb.). Cannot compare to these experts who score over 750, but I guess finally I could say bye bye to GMAT

I will post my experience later, got to play some poker first

I benefited a lot from this forum, thanks for all your intelligent post. Special thanks for HongHu, and Paul, thanks for all you wonderful explanations!!

Congratulations DLMD. Great Job!!! Please post your experience. Tell us a little bit about the GMAT Verbal section please. Your' timing, type of questions [SC], how were the RC, how much time you had for the last 10-12 questions. What was your strike rate like?

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05 Jun 2005, 17:50

Thanks for all the congrats, you guys are really sweet

Be honest, I am still a little bitter about not getting over 750. But anyways, I think I am done with GMAT.

Because Math has always been my strength, so I don't have any comments on how to prepare Qs. My prep for GMAT can be simplified as prep for Verbal. Since I came from China, I hope my experience can benefit someone like me whose native language is not English.

I started my GMAT prep back in last Nov. I started by using Kaplan, which I believe can give me an idea about the test and provide me with some test taking tips. After I finished Kaplan and its Verbal book, I felt its usefulness was below my expectation. It might be good for someone who is a native speaker, but for someone like me who lacks English fundamentals, such tips and strategies won't work out for every question.

After Kaplan, I did OG. My scoring range for OG at that time was 70% for CR, 60-70% for SC, and around 50% for RC. I felt CR was much easier compare to RC and SC. Back then, RC was my worst nightmare. I am ok with these business passages because of my major, but these social science passages, such as women's rights or African Americans history, drove me nuts and made me exhausted every time I practice. Because I only can spend few hours a week to study (work full time and own a business), I decided to dump RC and focus mainly on CR and SC (which I later realized was totally wrong). I guessed half of the RCs on my first attempt, resulting V31 and 690 score.

I was very disappointed about the score. I tried to study right after my first attempt but I was not in the mood and no matter what I do, I couldn't improve my SC and RCs. It seemed like I reached a bottleneck. I gave myself a month break, and resumed my study at beginning of April.

This time, I started by using a Chinese version GMAT SC book. This book outlined most common mistakes Chinese student would encounter, and give a crash course on GMAT English. I would strongly suggest people get a GMAT prep book in their own language, because it has YOU as the main target, not like OG, which targets native English speaker. After couple weeks of practice, my SC improved dramatically to 85-90% range.

In addition, I started to practice lots of RC. My goal is not to practice RC techniques but mainly to develop my patient. It was really a headache at beginning, but after 10 sets of practice, I realize I am not scared of RC anymore. I can finish RCs without panic. By then, RC is just a passage which I have to read thru, who cares whether it is interesting or not? Don't feel the passage, just read it and find the answers. Trust me, if you approach RC as a third person outside "YOU" and the passage, you will find RC is pretty easy. Surprisingly, I can consistently score over 85% on RCs. This is really unbelievable; consider it was my worst enemy before.

One more thing, I think mental part plays a huge factor on GMAT. Don't push yourself too hard; if you cannot study anymore, just take a break. Don't hate GMAT, learn to have a positive attitude towards it: Treat GMAT as a way to build up your toughness and a good learning opportunity. Don't over study the day before your test, because one day of preparation won't be enough anyways. Treat the test as a practice, so you won't be that nervous. Relax before your D-day, and you will have a better mood for your test.

I believe everyone can score over 700 on GMAT, it's just a reflection of how much efforts you put and what kind of strategy you implement. Everyone has his/her strength and weakness; it's all about how you make it balance. If one attempt doesn't work out, it's fine. Don't get hard on yourself, re-evaluate and do it again. If I can do it, you can do it too.

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Hi DLMDCongrats !!Can u pls share what were the books and resources u used while preparation....esp. verbal.How tough were RCs n SCs in real test??Thanx

for V, I started with Kaplan, then OG, then two chinese version GMAT SC and RC books.

in the real test, I felt RC was about the same (maybe my V is not in the high bin). CR is ok, 1 boldface, and no tricky questions. I think SC is harder in the real test than OG. Besides the first 2 SCs, all my SC have long underlines, so I suggest you to prepare accordinately.

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07 Jun 2005, 18:02

DLMD wrote:

for V, I started with Kaplan, then OG, then two chinese version GMAT SC and RC books.

in the real test, I felt RC was about the same (maybe my V is not in the high bin). CR is ok, 1 boldface, and no tricky questions. I think SC is harder in the real test than OG. Besides the first 2 SCs, all my SC have long underlines, so I suggest you to prepare accordinately.

by the way, DLMD, is that chinese book available in english (or devnagari ) version since everybodi is talking about that book? i believe it must be excellent one.

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07 Jun 2005, 20:34

HIMALAYA wrote:

DLMD wrote:

for V, I started with Kaplan, then OG, then two chinese version GMAT SC and RC books.

in the real test, I felt RC was about the same (maybe my V is not in the high bin). CR is ok, 1 boldface, and no tricky questions. I think SC is harder in the real test than OG. Besides the first 2 SCs, all my SC have long underlines, so I suggest you to prepare accordinately.

by the way, DLMD, is that chinese book available in english (or devnagari ) version since everybodi is talking about that book? i believe it must be excellent one.

well, Himalaya, the answer to your question is yes and no..

In some extent, the chinese book is in English. If you have these SC 800 question sets or SC 1000 from the SC bank, I would say 90% of these questions are from (or same) the Chinese book.

but it's not 100% in English, cuz for these SC sets you downloaded online, there are no explanations. The Chinese book does provide explanation, which make the job much easier for me whoes English sux even I have been in the states for 9 years.

If you could find some gmat book in your own language, I think that definitely will help you a lot.